TIME OF YEAR FOR EAGLE VIEWING – Winter is the time of year when eagles follow waterfowl south as weather forces them out of the north country nesting grounds.  No Eagle Day has been scheduled for Schell-Osage Wildlife Area this year but the Missouri Conservation Department still lists Schell-Osage as  a prime area for eagle viewing. This photo by Bill Graham of the MDC captures one of the national symbols as it perches waiting for something edible to come into view.

Jill Pritchard, Statewide News Services Coordinator for the MDC, provided a link concerning MDC’s Eagle Days: https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/eagle-days-5.

She said, “There’s only one event listed so far because we’re still gathering that information, but keep an eye on the MDC newsroom as we will put out a news release next month concerning more events across the state.

On Monday, the day before the end of firearms deer season, she provided the following totals: Antlered Bucks: Cedar 823, St. Clair – 1,148, Vernon – 848, statewide – 88,663; Button Bucks: Cedar – 107, St. Clair – 184, Vernon: 118; Does: Cedar – 475, St. Clair – 809, Vernon – 649. Statewide: Antlered bucks – 88m663, Button Bucks – 16,399, Does – 66.211.  In 2018, the total deer kill was: Antlred Bucks -0 103,582, Buttono Buck -0 20,040, Does – 27,116 which includes youth and archery seasons.

As far as deer harvest numbers go, here’s a link to the Current Deer and Turkey Harvest Totals:  https://extra.mdc.mo.gov/widgets/harvest_table/.

For past summaries, go to https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/deer-harvest-reports/deer-harvest-summaries.